Took a raodie from vientiane to hoi an over xmas and new year, its a cheap way of doing it but quite stressful and tiring on the road, mostly on the Lao side due to the road conditions.
Left vientiane at 6 in the morning and reached Lao Bao border crossing at 6 in the evening. stopping only for a piss and lunch of chicken ,papaya salad and sticky rice at Seno
The Road between vientiane and Seno is shit but seno to the border was excellent. which surprised me.
The Town of Lao Bao is quite grotty but has a few more hotel options than dAnsavanh on the Lao side so we decided to cross the border that night ( its open until 10.00pm)